Snapshots
by Nattou
Summary: She had never thought another apartment could ever give her the same feeling of security that 3B once had, but this place came close. It was a lot bigger, but right there, on that old leather couch she felt just as comfortable as she had done years ago in a small living room across town. Ezria one-shot set season 6B (possible collection)
**Summary:** She had never thought another apartment could ever give her the same feeling of security that 3B once had, but this place came close. It was a lot bigger, but right there, on that old leather couch she felt just as comfortable as she had done years ago in a small living room across town.

 **AN:** So this little one-shot came out after watching the scenes of Aria and Ezra writing together in 6B. I haven't written in forever so I'm afraid I'm a little out of practice, but I hope you enjoy.

 **Disclaimer:** Don't own a think. Things would be oh, so very different if I did.

Comfortable

Aria had no idea quite how long she had been there, but a quick glance at the darkening sky outside revealed that several hours had passed since she had walked through Ezra's door; laptop in hand, ready to get some writing done. Smiling slightly to herself, she turned to look at Ezra where he was sat working by his desk. It still amazed her how quickly they had fallen into old habits around each other. After five years of barely any contact she had prepared herself for some awkwardness, but it never really came, at least not in the ways she had imagined it to. Instead it almost felt like no time had passed at all. He still had the ability to make her feel at ease, make her feel at home. She never felt like a guest around Ezra, she never had. Despite the complicated circumstances of their early relationship, actually being with him had been almost effortless. They just worked. He lived in a new apartment now, but in many ways it still felt like they were back at 3B, back when she'd be doing homework while he was working on a lecture or a paper of some sort. Every sound that filled the room was familiar; comforting. Turning her head around again, she closed her eyes and stretched her legs out on the couch, bare feet crawling underneath one of the throw pillows Ezra had placed there. She had never thought another apartment could ever give her the same feeling of security that 3B once had, but this place came close. It was a lot bigger, but right there, on that old leather couch she felt just as comfortable as she had done years ago in a small living room across town. Something buried deep in her heart told her that it probably had less to do with the location and everything to do with the company, but that was a conversation she was not quite ready to have with herself. Instead she tried to bring her focus back to the papers in her hand. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that they were actually writing a book together. Before coming clean about what she had done she had imagined his reaction over and over again in her mind. She had expected anger and disapproval; she had expected him to yell at her until all that was left was his disappointment. That had been the worst part. She had imagined him walking away from her with disappointment in his eyes, telling her he didn't want to see her again. What she had not expected was for him to look at her with a stunned expression while he tried to make sense of what she had done, then proceed to tell her he couldn't be mad at her when she'd acted out of love.

Love.

It had been a long time since they'd used that word around each other, but she knew it was true. Had it been anybody else she would have walked away and told Jillian exactly what was going on, but it wasn't anybody else. It was Ezra, and she couldn't just give up on him when he clearly needed help. They hadn't gone their separate ways hating each other, they had drifted apart, and though she wasn't _in love_ with him she knew she loved him. A part of her always would.

It wasn't until she had submitted the chapters that she had realized what she was doing. How much she was risking. Once she had decided to tell Ezra the truth she had spent hours writing new job applications and CV's, fully expecting to be fired by week's end, but Ezra hadn't let that happen. Instead he had pitched her as a co-writer and somehow convinced her boss to let them continue writing the book together.

Neither one had said the words directly to each other, they had lingered unsaid between them, but she knew then that a part of him still loved her too.

She shook her head gently. So much for not thinking about it. Turning her attention to the chapters again, she let the steady clicking from the keys on Ezra's laptop pull her back into the written world and tuned out everything around her. It wasn't until she felt Ezra's hands on her legs that she realized he had stopped writing and had come to stand by the couch. His warm hands wrapped around her ankles as he gently lifted her legs up and sat down next to her before lowering them back down across his lap. It was a familiar position, one that had once been second nature, but that was over five years ago, and as their eyes met Aria could tell that he'd acted out of habit. There was a slight shadow of uncertainty in his eyes, but the moment she shot him a small smile it disappeared.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Ezra announced just as a well timed growl was heard from his stomach. Aria laughed and placed the papers she was holding on the coffee table.

"Sounds like we need to feed you."

"Are you volunteering to cook?"

"Eh, no," she said as scrunched up her nose and shook her head.

"Rose of Sheridan?" he asked, a smile twitching in the corner of his mouth. There was a glint in his eye that told her it was no accident that that was the first restaurant he mentioned. They were living in one giant déjà vu, and as comforting as it was, it also filled her stomach with slight butterflies. Rose of Sheridan had been _their_ place all through high school. Numerous date nights had been spent on the very same couch they were sitting on ordering their favorite meals, most of which she was certain the staff knew they would order the second Ezra said his name. And now they were doing it all over again. But this time they weren't dating. And they weren't hiding.

"They're still around?" she asked genuinely surprised. Most of the places around town had changed names or swapped owners since she had last been there.

"They are."

"Then yes, please. I can't remember the last time I had their food."

"Alright then," he said cheerfully as he brought his hands down to grip her shins and give them a squeeze. "I'll go get their menu."

She definitely wasn't the only one feeling the not so subtle tugs from the past.

*PLL*

"Oh my god, I had forgotten how good this was," Aria said as she took a bite of the eggroll that technically belonged in Ezra's take-out container.

"Ey! Those are mine; get your own."

"Oh, get over it, there's several left," she laughed. They both knew there was more than enough food and if tonight turned out to be anything like takeout nights used to be, they'd both be sneaking food from each other's orders until they couldn't eat another bite. It was how they'd always been. Sharing was something that had been so natural to them from the beginning. Aria had treated his apartment as her own for most of their relationship and even now it was perfectly ok for her to just walk in without knocking. They had always been extremely comfortable around each other and even though Aria knew her friends had been joking when they said they were an old married couple, there was a part of her that had actually agreed. In the years apart some of that had disappeared, but now, a few weeks later, they had both let down their guards and were once again completely relaxed around each other. With Ezra she didn't have to pretend to be anything she wasn't, or think about what she said regarding her past. Nothing she said would shock or surprise him. If she had a panic attack around him he'd understand, there would be no need to explain. He knew her in a way no one else did, and she felt like an idiot for taking so long to realize just how much she had missed him, how much she had missed the friendship part of their relationship. He had been her boyfriend, but he had also been one of her best friends. The one she went to for comfort when things got too hard to handle on her own. As she took a sip of her drink she silently vowed that she wouldn't ever let herself become estranged from him again. He held a permanent piece of her heart that no one else could ever take away from him.

"What are you thinking about? You got all quiet," he asked, pulling her back into the present.

"Us," she said with a small, somewhat uncertain smile pulling at her lips. His blue eyes connected with hers and she could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure out in what way she meant that statement. "I just, "she started. "I just realized how much I've missed this. Missed you. I don't want us to drift that far apart again." The words came out quietly, but they seemed to dance between them like an echo bouncing off a mountain and she found herself focusing on her hands as she waited for a reply.

"Aria, look at me," he said gently. "I don't want that either. When you came back here, god, everything was a mess, but I've missed you too, so much. I should have told you that a long time ago."

She gave him smile as she let the words sink in. It felt nice to hear those words out loud. To get the confirmation that she wasn't the only one who had missed this, missed them and everything that brought.

Maybe she was ready to have that conversation with herself after all.

 **AN:** Hope you liked it. Feel free to leave me a review telling me what you think.

Caroline


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